Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Special contribution to WSN by UW-Stevens Point communications student Curtis Rauen

Silence defined the beginning of the season for the Muskego boys soccer team.

After a 2-3 start to the season, Warriors coach Eric Hess didn't particularly like what he was seeing from his team. And after a 3-0 loss to Kettle Moraine on Sept. 10 left Muskego with a 6-4 record, Hess felt his players were too quiet on the field and lacked cohesion as a result.

His solution? A team bowling trip. 

"At the start of the season you could hear a pin drop," Hess said. "I took the team bowling after that (Kettle Moraine) loss. We made up chants for spares and strikes.

"We needed to find our voice." 

The Warriors did just that and have been rolling along ever since, going 15-0-1 from that point on and earning a spot in Friday's WIAA Division 1 state tournament semifinal against Arrowhead (19-0-2) at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee. 

With 13 new players on the team this season, Hess was forced to make some adjustments. And it appears he's made the correct ones with this group. 

"We focused on what we had, and what we could accomplish," said Hess, whose team is now 21-4-1. "We needed to find our style. We’re a capable team."

Key among those changes was the move of senior Brody Kraussel from the wing to a central forward position. 

"The transition allowed me to move around a lot more, it benefited me," said Kraussel, who has scored a team-high 30 goals to go along with 11 assists. 

"Brody brings skill and finish ability," Hess said. "He also brings off-the-field leadership, and gets us fired up."

Qualifying for the state tournament for the first time since 2009 was no small task for the Warriors. Muskego knocked off top-seeded and three-time defending state champion Marquette University in the sectional semifinals, before beating Kenosha Bradford in the sectional final. 

Friday, the Warriors get another crack at an Arrowhead team that defeated them 2-0 in the fourth game of the season. 

"They're a very fast, physical team. We need to slow them down, match their strengths," Hess said of Arrowhead.

A victory over Arrowhead would send the Warriors -- who are making the program's sixth state tournament trip since 2001 -- to their first title game since they captured the crown in 2009. Green Bay Preble (22-3-1) faces Madison West (18-4-1) in the other semifinal.

"It would be a finishing point to end a great season," Hess said of a potential title-game run. "It would be a great story, a team no one expected."